


The Age Where Nothing Fits

by theliteraltrash



Category: High School Musical (Movies)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Future Fic, M/M, Misunderstandings, Reunions, School Reunion, Ten Years Later
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-25
Updated: 2019-07-25
Packaged: 2020-07-19 22:44:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19981759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theliteraltrash/pseuds/theliteraltrash
Summary: It's 2018 and life is very different from what the students of East High imagined. Becoming adults, people lose touch. Can that spark of friendship be reignited?





	The Age Where Nothing Fits

**Author's Note:**

> title is part of a quote from Rebel Without a Cause

Troy Bolton would be lying if he said he wasn't disappointed in himself for having lost touch with Chad after they graduated from East High. They went to separate colleges, thousands of miles apart from each other. The last Troy had heard from Chad, the latter was finally deciding on a major to go with his basketball scholarship. He chose business, oddly enough. Chad had plans to make his own t-shirt company, based in New York for reasons unspecified. The most contact they have with each other is liking each other's Facebook statuses and leaving comments. Even then, Chad didn't post much aside from political opinions that sparked debates with Taylor in the comments, or updates on the success of his business.

On the other hand, Troy had become a stay-at-home father. Gabriella was a lawyer, representing the state of California in murder trials. Their daughter is 3 years old, and she's already so smart and pretty. Maria Montez, Troy decided her name should be alliterative like all the best comic book characters, and Gabriella refused to give up her last name in the marriage. Troy was fine with that because he didn't ascribe to arbitrary marriage traditions. He was just glad Gabi hadn't realized she was too good for him.

Maria was seated at the kitchen table and Troy was cooking dinner when Gabriella came home. They went about their normal after work routine, then settled in to eat. "We got our invitations to the 10 year reunion in the mail today," Gabi informed him as he cut Maria's chicken into smaller pieces. "I think I can get the week off and we can get a full vacation out of it."

"Yeah? When is it?"

"June 2nd," she said as Troy sat.

That was the exact anniversary of the day they graduated. Troy remembered the choir that sang as they got their diplomas, the red caps and gowns, and Taylor's valedictorian speech. "Can you get a week off with less than a month of warning?" He furrowed his brows.

Gabriella smirked that conspiratorial smirk he knew all too well. "Taylor and Kelsi have been planning the reunion for a year, so I already got the days off."

"Why did you wait so long to tell me?"

She shrugged. "Maybe I wanted it to be a surprise. We hardly ever get to go back to Albuquerque, and I wanted to wait until we got the invitations so you wouldn't freak out."

Before Troy could say anything in response, Maria let out a loud giggle as she put her entire hand in the Alfredo on her plate. "I wanna go to abu-cookie!" She yelled.

"Jesus Christ," Troy grabbed some of the napkins that they always had handy on the center of the table. "Okay, we're going to Albuquerque and visiting grandma and grandpa," he said as he cleaned Maria's hand. "Maybe show them you actually know how to use a fork, alright Em?"

* * *

A month passed quicker than it should have. Troy wasn’t sure if he was genuinely looking forward to the reunion. Everyone had such high hopes for his life after high school, yet here he was; unemployed with no friends aside from his wife and his three year old daughter. So much for East High’s Golden Boy.

Troy takes a deep breath and adjusts his tie one last time. Gabi rests her chin on his shoulder and meets his eyes in the mirror. “Everything is gonna be fine,” she says, a comforting smile on her face. 

“C’mon guys you don’t wanna be late!” The sound of Troy’s mother’s voice causes them to separate.

Gabriella steps back, grabbing Troy by his biceps. She turns him so that he’s facing her. “Maria is going to be safe here with your parents, and we are gonna reconnect with our friends. Don’t you miss the Wildcats?”

Troy smiles and places a gentle kiss on her lips. “Let’s go.”

As they walk down the stairs, they can hear Troy’s father, Jack, reading a story to Maria in the living room. “But the wild things cried, ‘Oh please don’t go - we’ll eat you up - we love you so!’ And Max said, ‘No!’” Maria is completely enthralled with the story. No matter how many times she hears it, she always gasps in the appropriate places. It’s one of the most adorable things troy has ever seen, and he’s really proud that she’s a combination of all the best parts of him and Gabriella already.

“Bye dad,” Troy says as he and Gabriella approach the front door. “Maria, baby be good.”   
  
Maria and Jack look up from the book. “Bye mommy! Bye daddy!” Maria waves.

Gabriella grabs her purse from the coat rack. “We love you so much, baby. Be good for grandma and grandpa, and remember to brush your teeth before bed.”

“Stay safe, you guys,” Jack says before Troy opens the door.

“We will,” Troy assures him.

On the drive back to East High, Troy can’t help but be reminded of all the times he used to drive Gabriella around when they were in high school. Passing by a diner, he remembers a double date he and Gabriella had with Chad and Taylor in junior year. “I wonder if they still have the best milkshakes,” Gabi says.

Troy glances at her and smiles. “They always did, I doubt they changed the recipe.”

The parking lot of East High is packed. It appears as though the entire class of 2008 is in attendance. “I don’t see a single pink car here,” Gabriella chuckles as they drive around looking for a parking spot. “Do you think Sharpay finally came to her senses and got something with a different color?”

Troy laughs and shakes his head. “God, no. She probably didn’t come or was driven by Ryan.”

They finally find a parking space, a decent walking distance away from the entrance that all the signs are pointing to. Troy contemplates asking Gabi if she’s okay with walking that distance in her heels, but he realizes that she would have worn flats if she didn’t want to walk in heels. They hold hands as they navigate the parking lot, and Troy admires the red banner hanging on the front of the banner welcoming them.

“I could have gone without the tie,” Troy sighs as he takes into account everyone he sees walking into the building. There aren’t many guys with ties to go with their suit jackets.

Gabriella rolls her eyes. “You’re wearing jeans, doofus.”

“Still!”

When they finally get to the table that has their name tags, they’re greeted by the sight of Taylor McKessie and Kelsi Nielson all grown up. Taylor has long braids, as opposed to her old style where she relaxed her hair and then curled it into loose ringlets. She wears a floral tank top with a woman’s blazer and white pants. Sitting next to her, laughing at a conversation Troy can’t hear, is Kelsi. Gone are her hats and glasses, and instead her hair is a honey blonde that goes to the middle of her neck. She’s wearing a polka dot button-up and black slacks.

Gabriella squeals when she sees them. “Oh my god, hi!” She shouts.

Troy gives them an awkward smile and wave as he reaches for his name tag. “Good to see you guys,” he says.

Taylor stands and reaches over the table to hug Gabi. “You’re so pretty!” She says.

Kelsi rolls her eyes, then makes eye contact with Troy. “You finally lost that bowlcut,” she gestures to her own hair.

“Chopped it off sophomore year of college,” Troy nods. “You however are blonde now.”

She smiles. “My girlfriend does hair and makeup for movies and insisted on doing mine.”

Girlfriend. Kelsi has a girlfriend. Troy can’t find any shock to have at this information. She had never dated anyone when they knew each other. “It looks really nice.”

“Well I won’t hold you guys hostage any longer,” Taylor says as she hands Gabriella her name tag. “Chad asked me if you were coming tonight.”

So Chad and Taylor still talk in private. Are they together again? Before Troy can ask Taylor about it, Gabriella grabs his hand and leads him inside the gymnasium. The gym is crowded with adults, yet there are no staff present as far as Troy can tell. He spots a tall man with a familiar face talking to someone, and looks for the name tag on the man’s chest.  **Zeke Baylor** . 

Gabriella must have also seen him, because she is the one that leads the way over to him. Fireflies by Owl City is playing loudly over the speakers, and Troy wonders if they’ll be playing music from the time close to when they graduated. 

“Bolton!” Zeke smiles widely and pulls Troy into a hug when they get close to him. “It’s been too long dude.”

Troy smiles, looking up to meet Zeke’s eyes as Gabi hugs him. “Yeah, how you doin’ man?”

“Oh I’m great,” Zeke says. “I got a job at Proof Bakery in L.A. after I graduated from The Institute of Culinary Education.”

“That’s amazing, dude!” Troy smacks his bicep. “We’ll have to come by some time, we live in Palo Alto.”

Gabi leans her head on Troy’s shoulder. “That’s a 6 hour drive, Troy. We’ll have to go when we’re on vacation some time this summer.”

“What about you guys?” Zeke asks, a knowing look on his face.

Gabi shows him her wedding ring. “We’ve been married four years, and our daughter Maria just turned three.”

Zeke puts a hand on his chest. “Oh you guys are just adorable together. I just knew you guys would be married by now. However, I didn’t expect Danforth and Evans to show up and tell me they’ve been married for five years.”

Troy’s eyebrows shoot up. “Chad is married to who, now?” The thought of Chad being married to Sharpay can’t compute in his brain. It’s so weird. Well, they did both go to UofA together, and the last time Troy talked to Chad he was making plans to move to New York, which just so happens to be the place Sharpay has dreamed of living in.

Zeke nods, disbelief showing on his expression as well. “I know!”

Troy looks around, trying to see if he can spot the odd couple. He just couldn’t imagine why Chad hadn’t told him about his relationship. That’s not even mentioning the fact that he hadn’t been invited to the wedding. His eyes land on a profile he can never forget. Sharpay had definitely changed a lot. Her hair was brown with highlights, yet still in the familiar style she used to always have. Her ensemble no longer consisted of glitter and hot pink, but was toned down and mature. He notices that there’s no ring on her left hand. Chad is standing nearby, as is her twin Ryan. The three of them are laughing about something.

When Sharpay’s head turns and she catches sight of Troy, his eyes widen. Not because of her. No, his eyes widen because Chad kisses Ryan on the mouth, and then walks over to the concessions table. “Excuse us, Zeke, I’m gonna go catch up with the Evans twins and Chad,” Troy says absently, tugging Gabriella along with him.

“Did you see that?” Gabi whispers to him as they walk.

Troy nods. “Yeah… When Zeke said Chad married an Evans, I thought he meant Sharpay.”

“Me too-”

“Troy! Gabriella! It’s so wonderful to see you guys,” Sharpay says. “God, you two really got hot.”

Ryan elbows her in the ribs. “She had some vodka on the drive over,” he extends his hand, shaking Gabriella’s when it’s offered.

Troy lets out a chuckle. He shakes Ryan’s hand and says, “No worries.”

“Hoops!” Chad has a big grin on his face as he hands Ryan a plastic cup of lemonade. “Dude it’s been way too long.”

Troy nods and pulls Chad into a hug. “I can’t believe you cut your hair.”

Chad laughs, not letting him go quite yet. “You too, man. Seems like the wife finally told you that the Beibs haircut has never looked good.”

They pat each other on the back, then separate. “Just one question,” Troy says, looking back and forth between Chad and Ryan, “why wasn’t I invited to the wedding?”

Ryan hooks his arm with Chad’s in a fashion that reminds Troy of Gabriella. “It was a very private affair,” he says.

Sharpay lets out a laugh that only a tipsy woman can make. “By that he means they went to the courthouse and signed some papers.”

Gabriella wraps her arms around Sharpay and squeezes. It’s an odd sight. Two women who used to be girls, one of them hated the other for petty reasons, now reuniting like best friends. Sharpay smiles and leans her head on Gabi’s.

Chad rolls his eyes at Sharpay’s statement, but more or less ignores her. “I don’t really use any social media and that’s the only way we talk anymore,” regret is evident in his voice. “Plus, Ry is kind of a big deal in the Broadway scene and we like our privacy. If we weren’t really private about us, I’d never be able to escape that paps.”

Gabriella coos and puts a hand on Chad’s arm. “That’s so sweet. Did you at least have a honeymoon?”

Ryan’s face turns red. “Yeah,” he laughs. “We spent a week in Mauritius, it was very romantic.”

“And we had sex all over the bungalow,” Chad states, a smile on his face. 

“Oh my God I’m tired of hearing about your sex life!” Sharpay smacks him, causing him to let out a loud laugh. “Eleven goddamn years of this shit and you still won’t shut the fuck up!”

Troy’s eyes widen. “You two have been together for eleven years? That means…”

Chad nods. “We got together the summer before senior year.”

“The baseball game!” Gabi gasps, putting her hand over her mouth.

“Why did you think we spent a half hour in the locker room and came back wearing each other’s clothes?” Ryan purses his lips and squints, tilting his head.

Chad winks at Troy and nods. Troy shudders, causing Chad to laugh. “Dude! Do not tell me you two fucked in the Lava Springs locker room,” he hisses.

“That would be a lie,” Chad nudges him.

It’s like they’re back in high school. It’s their senior year, except Chad is apparently married to a man, Troy is a father, and they’re 10 years older. He doesn’t think he’ll ever get used to Chad’s new hairdo. It’s still an afro, but his hair is darker and it’s probably only an inch or two in height. He’s wearing a blazer, with tailored slacks, dress shoes, and a custom t-shirt. Somehow, they’re all the same, yet so very different.

“Enough about us,” Chad says. Ryan, Sharpay, and Gabriella are already deep in their own conversation. Something about a show that the twins were in that Gabi loves the cast recording of. “What have you been up to?”

Troy takes a deep breath and shrugs. “Gabi has this awesome job at some great law firm, and I stay at home taking care of our daughter.”

Chad’s jaw drops. “Troy Bolton is a stay at home dad, I never imagined.”

“Yeah we used to always talk about being in the NBA together. Here we are, both married, without a basketball in sight. Well, aside from the one in the garage that I use to shoot hoops in the driveway,” Troy sighs.

Chad puts his arm around Troy’s shoulders. “I think we did pretty well for ourselves. We’re both too short for the NBA anyways, so there was no way we’d be able to do that if we didn’t get married.”

Troy nods and smiles. “I’ve missed you, man. We gotta hang out some more. You still live in New York?”

“Yeah, but I think we can make it work if you live in some Californian suburb. We have our own private plane,” Chad informs.

Troy doesn’t quite believe what he hears. He gives Chad a slow blink and waits for him to reveal it’s a joke. Instead, Chad just raises his eyebrows. “You’re serious,” Chad nods. “Holy fuck. How much money do you make?”

Chad looks at the ground, his face turning a shade of pink. “I mean the business is doing really well, but the plane mainly comes from the Evans family. They’ve always had private planes, and now Ry and I have our own that we both paid for.”

“That’s literally insane.”

“The only thing I would have done differently with my life is not lose touch with you,” Chad admits. “I mean, you’re my brother, dude.”

Troy smiles. “We can make up for lost time. I can’t wait for Maria to meet her uncles Chad and Ryan and aunt Sharpay.”

“Bet you never imagined you’d be saying that.”

“Never in a million years.”

**Author's Note:**

> fic is partially inspired by that pic of corbin and lucas during the cast reunion where they're showing their class rings and it looks like chad and ryan are married now and also partially inspired by me thinking about how you can lose touch w friends and then come back in contact and feel like you never spent any time apart


End file.
